The 183 parties to the FCTC have gathered in Geneva to discuss tougher global rules on tobacco and nicotine products, including proposed bans on cigarette filters and e-cigarette flavourings. The WHO accuses the tobacco industry of targeting children with sweet flavours and warns delegations against industry lobbying. Officials support filter bans but stress that higher tobacco taxes would more effectively reduce consumption. Germany is criticised for low tobacco taxes and not adopting plain packaging, with experts citing 127,000 annual tobacco-related deaths in the country.
Geneva Summit: 183 Countries Consider Bans on Cigarette Filters and Sweet Vape Flavours
The 183 parties to the FCTC have gathered in Geneva to discuss tougher global rules on tobacco and nicotine products, including proposed bans on cigarette filters and e-cigarette flavourings. The WHO accuses the tobacco industry of targeting children with sweet flavours and warns delegations against industry lobbying. Officials support filter bans but stress that higher tobacco taxes would more effectively reduce consumption. Germany is criticised for low tobacco taxes and not adopting plain packaging, with experts citing 127,000 annual tobacco-related deaths in the country.
04:28 PM, 11/17/2025Health
The 183 parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) have convened in Geneva to debate a package of stricter global rules on tobacco and nicotine products. Delegates are considering an expert paper that proposes measures such as banning cigarette filters and banning flavourings in e-cigarettes, among other regulatory options.
The World Health Organization (WHO) accuses the tobacco industry of deliberately targeting children with sweet flavours like jelly beans and candyfloss (cotton candy), and it is urging governments to resist industry lobbying. The WHO has warned national delegations not to tolerate representatives of tobacco interests at the talks.
"We must be aware of industry's interference in debates," said Etienne Krug, director of the WHO department that oversees tobacco issues.
Krug said the WHO would welcome a filter ban but cautioned that this should not distract from stronger tobacco taxation. "Taxation of tobacco would cut consumption much more sharply," he told dpa.
Why filters and flavours are under scrutiny
Experts argue that cigarette filters increase the product's appeal while doing little to reduce harm. Filters can encourage deeper inhalation, driving toxins further into the lungs, and discarded filters cause environmental pollution. Flavourings in e-cigarettes are blamed for attracting young users and helping the industry secure new generations of nicotine consumers.
Germany criticised for slow progress
Germany receives a poor rating in WHO progress reports on tobacco control, partly because its tobacco taxes fall short of the WHO recommendation that taxes make up at least 75% of the retail price. The country has also not adopted standardised (plain) packaging for cigarettes.
"The tobacco and nicotine industry is constantly putting out new products, such as vapes, because they appeal to young people and get them addicted to nicotine early on – that is how they secure their market," said Ulrike Helbig of German Cancer Aid. Vapes, or e-cigarettes, heat a liquid to create an inhaled vapour; most contain nicotine.
Helbig said an estimated 127,000 people die in Germany each year from tobacco use, and that roughly one in five of the country's about 520,000 new annual cancer diagnoses is attributable to tobacco and nicotine. She added that the economic burden from medical treatment and lost earnings is about six times greater than the revenue generated by tobacco taxes.
The talks in Geneva will test whether countries can agree on tougher measures — from flavour bans to stricter packaging and higher taxes — to curb nicotine addiction and protect young people worldwide.